Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)
Back in the first decade of the new millennium, Dee Dee and Chance Galloway were on a mission trip to Greece. Sitting in one of the most ancient churches in historic Thessaloniki, The Hagia Sophia, Dee Dee heard the call.
In the coming posts, we will explore more of her and Chance’s journey on answering the call through the many activities of the International Fellowship of St John’s. One of the main missions of the foundation is Church Planting. Through networking with Foundation staff Pastor Stanimir, Pastor Manilov and Pastor Illiev, Bible Schools, summer camps, house churches and youth ministry, over 40 successful churches have been created throughout Bulgaria alone.
Hosting Missionaries
The Foundation hosts groups of mission teams and interns from Western Europe and North America who come to minister to the different churches in the region. Dee Dee Galloway recommends the book From Brokenness to Community, by Jean Vanier. A quote that embodies the focus of The Fellowship’s efforts on church planting offers insight into the philosophy of the Foundation:
Growth will come as we come close to people who are different from us and as we learn to welcome and listen even to those who trigger off our pain.
Jean Vanier
The main reason for the success in evangelizing is the focus on loving and solidarity with the communities served. In the beginnings of Christianity, the main reason the Christians won the hearts of the people was their kindness, their love and support for the least of those, as Christ said. The Fellowship is a model of the main message of the Gospels, to love one another as we have been loved.